Tunisia - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Tunisia cover image

Tunisia

November 20, 2024

Tunis 6:44 pm

21°C

Tunisia's president, Kais Saied, attends his swearing-in ceremony before the National Assembly in Tunis on Oct. 21, 2024.

Analysis

As Saied begins new term as president, Tunisians brace for unstable governance

In a second presidential term, Tunisia’s increasingly autocratic ruler is unlikely to secure the political and economic stability the country craves.

Francisco Serrano

By Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Inside a warehouse used by Jumia.

Analysis

Tunisia risks missing e-commerce boom as Jumia exits, startup investment lags

Despite efforts to build Tunisia's digital economy, the North African country still presents challenges for global e-commerce, impacting growth prospects for new products and services.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur drops out of 2024 tennis circuit

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, currently ranked 22nd in the Women's Tennis Association, will step away from tennis until 2025 as she recovers from a shoulder injury.

FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images

Tunisians head to streets in protest as election nears

The protests over what people claim is a skewed election process will take place near Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis.

Latest News

At Africa summit, China elevates ties with Libya, invests $14M in Egypt

China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang (C) delivers his speech.

Tunisia’s green hydrogen strategy will need domestic stakeholders

Solar pannels cover the rooftops of the buildings of the Makhtar boarding school on September 29, 2022, in the Tunisian central-west region of the same name. - The Makthar boarding school, a unique business initiative is both generating income and opening pupils' minds to the outside world. Lotfi Hamadi, founder of the NGO "Wallah (Swear to God) We Can", is hoping that helping schools boost their resources through food and energy production can breathe new life into Tunisia's failing, cash-strapped educatio

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Analysis

As Europe's far right surges, North Africa immigration takes center stage

Migrants from Tunisia and Lybia arrive onboard of an Italian Guardia Costiera (Coast Guard) boat in the Italian Pelagie Island of Lampedusa on Aug. 1, 2020.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Al-Monitor/Premise poll finds Biden's unpopularity in Mideast makes room for China, Russia to outshine US

(L-R) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi wave hands during the group photo session, a head of the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries, on the sideline of the 2017 BRICS Summit in Xiamen, southeastern China's Fujian Province on Sept. 5, 2017.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Protesters lift placards during a demonstration in Tunis on Feb. 25, 2023.

Sub-Saharans in Tunisia fear for their lives following Saied's racist comments

A wave of violent racist attacks on sub-Saharan people living in Tunisia has spread across the country since President Kais Saied declared his belief in a conspiracy to change the demographic of Tunisia.

Tunisian demonstrators take part in a rally against President Kais Saied, called for by the opposition "National Salvation Front" coalition, in the capital Tunis, on December 10, 2022. (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s opposition calls on president to quit after low turnout election

Saturday elections were marked by voter apathy, official numbers showed turnout standing at a slim 8.8%, in the first vote since President Kais Saied's power grab in 2021.

Morocco's sole oil refinery in Mohammedia, near Casablanca, on June 22, 2019. - Three years after it was liquidated for racking up billions of euros worth of debt, Morocco's sole oil refinery and one-time economic flagship is struggling to attract a buyer and survive. A self-declared "national front" -- comprising employees, economists and union leaders -- is leading the charge to salvage refining company SAMIR, while a trade court desperately seeks a new owner. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read

Morocco, Tunisia to face bloated energy costs over 2023-2024

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Tunisian demonstrators take part in a rally against President Kais Saied, called for by the opposition "National Salvation Front" coalition, in the capital Tunis, on December 10, 2022. (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

The Takeaway: Tunisia's Saied visits US, days before controversial elections

Plus, Iran is expelled from a United Nations women's rights body and Morocco's underdog team is knocked out of the World Cup.

Cranes and containers are pictured on November 12, 2014, in the Tunisian port city of Rades. The World Bank said in a report published last September that Tunisia's economic model of manufacturing for exports and protecting the domestic market was valid in the 1970s but since then had hindered progress. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s potential IMF deal to boost manufacturing investments

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

World Cup

Analysis

Iran, Saudi, other MidEast teams warm up in Qatar as World Cup approaches

Iran is looking to advance to the second round for the first time ever, but the team is mired in controversy over the protests in the country while host Qatar itself is facing criticism at home.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

A woman walks over cracked earth at al-Massira dam in Ouled Essi Masseoud village, some 140 kilometres (85 miles) south from Morocco's economic capital Casablanca, on August 8, 2022 amidst the country's worst drought in at least four decades. - Residents of Morocco's Ouled Essi Masseoud village are suffering from a series of successive droughts, prompting them to rely solely on sporadic supplies in public fountains and from private wells. The situation is critical, given the village's position in the agricu

Water stress to remain major driver of social instability, barrier to economic growth in Maghreb

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Moroccans raise placards as they gather in front of parliament in the capital Rabat to protest against rising prices, on February 20, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Inflation in Maghreb will continue to undercut real wages and feed social discontent

Francisco Serrano

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Ons Jabeur

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur falls short in US Open final

Jabeur is by far the most successful tennis player to come out of North Africa, but has yet to win a Grand Slam tournament.

Tunisia food

Tunisians watch prices of most consumer goods soar

Tunisians have seen their purchasing power plummet in recent days, amid a market shortage of basic goods, soaring prices of most consumer goods and warnings of possible nationwide protests.

Tunisian citizens and lawyers leave the court of the governorate of Ariana after the announcement of a strike by judges, following the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary by President Kais Saied, Feb. 9, 2022.

Tunisian president targets judiciary, dismisses dozens of judges

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed 57 judges, accusing them of obstructing investigations into terrorism cases and committing financial and moral corruption.

This photo shows the interior of El-Ghriba synagogue, the oldest Jewish monument built in Africa, on the first day of the annual pilgrimage, Djerba island, Tunisia, April 26, 2021.

Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisian island stirs calls for criminalizing normalization with Israel

The annual Jewish pilgrimage to El-Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia has rekindled the popular and political debate over the issuance of a law criminalizing normalization with Israel.